Shanghai and what it symbolises.

I often find myself confused which generation I should fit into. It's awkward because during my life, I experienced pre-mobile life, but also caught on the mobile revolution. I also watched in awe as China went from isolation and self determination to a serious economic player in the world stage.

This rapid development coincided with the opening up of economic policy, welcoming more market dynamics in the economy. Foreign companies poured in investments at first, building manufacturing plants, taking advantage of cheap and eager labour, later on becoming a real centre of technology and innovation.

Shanghai is exemplary of the boom of China and served as the first platform for international relations. The pudong area went from being a farm land to being the super modern metropolis with some of the most impressive (and tallest) skyscrapers in the world.

People who come to work in Shanghai command salaries far above the national average, often exceeding international standards. A friend of mine who works at Morgan Stanley as an analyst has gone from being struggling financially to being entirely free of financial burden. I too, benefitted from being an early participant in the boom of Shanghai but chose other life pursuits in place of materialism.

There comes a time where the place of life far exceeds our ability to keep up, in turn forcing us to use borrowed time. Life in the fast lane is great until you realise time goes by so fast and you wake up "old". For a person born in the 70s, that's a frightening statement to make, but the pressures of conforming and keeping up often elude us to this.

Still, despite the side effects of a wondrous growth spurt, Shanghai is the pride and joy of China, it has a fusion of cultural influences but has ascended into the world stage retaining it's identity as very much oriental. This is what the pearl orient symbolises at the heart of pudong.

To see the extent of Chinas financial might, take a look at the Shanghai tower, the World financial centre, Jin Mao and pearl orient.

Being a semi local , I found a perfect spot for taking pictures of the sakura flowers. Who says modern cannot be beautiful?